A Shadow Christmas Carol
by ckaira77
Summary: A Christmas classic that apparently snuck its way into the world of Sonic. Shadow is visited by the three ghost of Christmas and is stuck with boring lectures all night. FUN STUFF RIGHT!


A Shadow Christmas Carol

It was a night before Christmas (Duh) and there was a house. In the house was two hedgehogs. One quite cheery, one quite mad. They were doing the last thing expected from anyone on the day before Christmas. They were working. A silver hedgehog sat near a fire scribbling down something on a paper. He shivered with cold.

"Shadow, can you warm it up on here? It's cold!" whimpered Silver pathetically. Shadow only glanced over with a scowl upon his face.

"Do you really think that heat falls from the sky?! You should be ashamed to ask a question such as thy," Shadow replied.

"Um… We get heat from the sun. Yes, from the sky it sometimes will come. Why are we rhyming?" asked Silver.

"I don't know. Actually, instead of talking to me, you should be busy! I didn't hire you to do nothing!" snapped Shadow at Silver angrily.

"Yes, sir…"

 _Ding-dong!_

"Really?! I can't count my millions of dollars with all of these interruptions!" snapped Shadow walking to the door. He opened it.

Young Cream is a gentle rabbit who likes to do charity work and help the poor. She stood outside with her Chao Cheese. Her brown eyes sparkled in the light. The two of them smiled brightly.

"Hi, Mr. Shadow! We are going around and asking for donations to help out the poor! We know you usually pass, but we thought that maybe this year you would help us out!" Cream said cheerily.

"Chao!" Cheese agreed.

"Why would I change my mind! It's not my fault that there are stupid people out there who don't have any money. I know they all envy me for my money, but there's no way I'm sharing! They are weak pathetic people who disgust me! Now take your stupid Christmas cheer away from this place! If you don't, you'll have really bad feelings on your face!" yelled Shadow slamming the door on Cream and Cheese. He could hear through the door that they began to cry. The two of them slowly left.

"Why'd you do that?! She's only six Shadow! It's not nice to slam the door on people!" yelled Silver standing up.

"Well, I'm a hundred and fifty! Get to work!" snapped Shadow.

"You're a hundred and fifty?! How is that even possible?!" demanded Silver in bewilderment.

"The Internet doesn't lie. Stop stalling!" retorted Shadow bitterly.

Silver went back to his work reluctantly. Right as he did so, the doorbell rang once again. Shadow groaned as he went to the door. Before he got to it, Sonic came barrelling into the room! The door swung back and hit Shadow in the face. Stars were soaring around his head.

"Um… Sorry Shadow! I didn't mean to! Guess what! It's me! Your favorite nephew!" chirped Sonic cheerily.

"You are not my nephew. Even if you were, you wouldn't be my favorite. Why are you disturbing me?!" asked Shadow recovering from the impact of the door.

"I just thought that I'd invite you to my party! All of my family members are coming, well, except you so far! It's going to be located at me and Amy's house at six pm," Sonic replied.

"Why do you think I'd be interested! I stopped going to parties long ago!" Shadow replied to Sonic.

"Why?" asked Silver from across the room.

Shadow's eyes clouded for a moment. Although, he returned to normal in two seconds. He looked at Silver seriously.

"That's a topic that doesn't concern you, Silver," Shadow replied.

"Are you coming or not?" asked Sonic impatiently.

"Okay, let's get one thing straight. I'm a guy who doesn't care about anything Christmas related! The fact that you come to me with this is ridiculous! I've never cared about anyone! You are one of the sorry hedgehogs that I will never grow to like or respect! Now, take you Christmas party elsewhere! You aren't welcome here! Now go back to your sorry excuse for a wife and leave me alone!" snapped Shadow. Sonic flinched from Shadow's harsh words. He looked down at the ground pathetically. He sulked to the door.

"Well, if you still want to come, you can. It might even do you some good…," Sonic said before walking out the door.

"Look. Sonic's walking! I didn't think that the world was ready for that yet!" Silver exclaimed when he saw Sonic walk through the door.

"I couldn't possibly care less!"

"Shadow, you are going to let me get time off tomorrow right?" asked Silver.

"The government is making me let you have time off. Now get out of here! Your assistance is no longer required!" Shadow said pointing out the door.

"Really? Thank you, Shadow! Merry Christmas!" yelled Silver waving goodbye as he left.

"Christmas is for fools!" Shadow retorted.

Shadow slammed the door and walked up the stairs to his room. Shadow hopped into his bed. He pulled the covers over him. He was asleep within minutes.

Hours went by and Shadow stirred at the sound of the clock. It was ten at night. Shadow drowsily looked up. He blinked the sleep from his eyes and stretched for a moment. He hopped back out of the bed knowing that he wasn't going to go back to sleep.

When he jumped out of his bed, he began to hear footsteps. The stairs creaked for no reason. There was nothing there, but why would the stairs be creaking if there was nothing there? An eerie voice appeared along with the footsteps. It called out, "Shadow… Shadow… Shadow…," getting louder each time. Shadow's fur he thought would turn as white as the snow outside. Shadow wasn't the only one in the room…

"Who are you and where are you hiding?!" demanded Shadow. He looked around. The voice only grew louder and louder!

"Is this how you greet an old friend Shadow? We go way back. Don't you remember me?" asked the voice. A ghost merged in front of Shadow. He gasped in astonishment.

"Dr. Robotnik! My creator! Dr. Eggman's grandfather! How is this possible?!" Shadow inquired.

"You living beings don't know everything yet. Greetings Shadow! It's been sixty years since I last saw you! I guess it's a good thing I made you the size you are and not the original size I had planned. You were going to be the size of my finger! Well, then I made another one that was enormous! A giant bio-lizard! Wait, you defeated that one. After that came you. The stubborn revenge project… Indeed, I gave you a unique personality… However, it is backfiring on you," Robotnik said to him.

"What do you mean by backfiring?" asked Shadow.

"Precisely what I mean. You are losing your Christmas spirit. Oh wait, you never had one. Well, that's going to have to change! If you don't change your ways, you'll end up like me! In the chains of despair… never to be free of them… You are going to be visited by three ghosts tonight Shadow! They will show you the true meaning of Christmas. I'm sure you'll enjoy them! The first two anyway…," Robotnik replied.

"Ghosts? What kind of ghosts?"

"Christmas ghosts. Be sure to treat them nicely. You should never make a ghost angry! I'm afraid that I'll have to go. It was indeed a pleasure to chat with you again! Farewell!" said Dr. Robotnik disappearing in front of Shadow. The room was silent once again.

"I must be more tired than I thought…," said Shadow.

A couple more hours went by. Shadow spent them asleep. He was once again woken up by the clock. He smashed his fist into it to get it to be quiet. He sat up again.

"I hate that clock…," Shadow grumbled.

The room had a lively feeling to it. An odd quality for a room to have at midnight, but that was what it was. The window creaked open. And a gust of air flew inside. Shadow walked over to close it but was interrupted by an unsuspected visitor.

"I wouldn't recommend closing that window. We're going to go out there in a moment," a soft female voice behind him said. Her voice was smooth and sounded heavenly. Shadow turned to see a red echidna. She wore traditional clothes. They almost looked ceremonial actually. She wore purple rings around her wrists and a white headband on her head.

"Who are you?" asked Shadow.

"My name is Tikal. I'm the ghost of Christmas Past. Greetings Shadow," said Tikal sweetly. Shadow's heart seemed to pound from this. He wasn't at all expecting something like this. He didn't deny or object anything, though.

"What are you doing here?" asked Shadow.

"I am here to show you the times when you had your Christmas cheer. Dr. Robotnik was lying when he said that he created you and that you never had any Christmas spirit. I am here to remind you of how things used to be for you. More specifically, why you had Christmas spirit. We will go when you're ready!" Tikal explained.

"Wait, we're going to time travel?!" questioned Shadow.

"No. Time travel is completely different from what we're going to do. Nobody else will be able to see us. You probably won't be able to remember any of the things you'll see until we get there," Tikal replied.

"There's no way I'm going with you!" snapped Shadow turning his back on her.

"I thought you might respond like that. It's a good thing I don't get angry. A ghost can control you by just thinking about what it wants you to do. Take my hand, or I'll force you," Tikal responded calmly.

Shadow didn't like either option. He turned around and snatched hand. She dashed to the window dragging him behind her like it was nothing. She jumped up into the window. Shadow yelled in protest, but he knew it was no use. They were sent flying through the air when she jumped.

"Let me guess, we won't fall?" asked Shadow looking down upon the town.

"Exactly! You're smarter than you look. I'll have to open a portal for us to memory travel," said Tikal.

"Memory travel?"

"That's what we're going to do," she said opening the portal.

The inside of the portal was all rainbow colors! It was crazy. Memories of Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic 06, Shadow the hedgehog, and many more raced by them. Shadow's head began to spin. They finally stopped closer to the end. Tikal led him out of it.

Once out, they were greeted by a giant house. The light was reflecting off the snow and there were no other houses around for miles. There were two windows on the front and the yard was huge! The house also had a cabin kind of look to it. It was mostly made out of wood. There was also a little brick chimney at the top with smoke fluttering out. Shadow couldn't figure out where he was to save his life.

"You probably have no idea where we are right now. That should be pretty normal. Look inside the window," said Tikal pointing at the window. Shadow took her advice. He was at the window before she knew it.

He looked inside to see a red interior inside. It was pretty cool Shadow thought. Sitting on the sofa watching television was a pitch black hedgehog. He had hair exactly like Sonic's. The only difference was that it wasn't blue. His eyes were like Sonic's too. Same with the shoes. The black hedgehog wore only gloves and shoes. His eyes were a bright gold. Shadow was still confused.

"Who's that?" asked Shadow.

"I thought that would've been obvious! That's you when you were younger," Tikal explained. Shadow's heart seemed to freeze. He'd never lived in a house when he was young! Never had he ever looked so much like Sonic! He was pretty sure he never had golden eyes! Or did he? Maybe Robotnik was lying to him all along?

The memories suddenly came crashing down on his brain like an avalanche in his head. It was all coming back. He had been brainwashed. He remembered the house, how he looked, his real personality, and- his brother?

"Shadow!" yelled a voice from within the house.

Modern Shadow got a weird feeling in him. One he never felt in a long time. It was related to the feeling he would get when he thought about Maria too long. He couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"What Luke?" asked Shadow from the past.

"Great… He had to have a Star Wars name… I'm always going to visualize him holding a lightsaber now!" exclaimed Modern Shadow.

"Star Wars is in the future!" Tikal reminded him.

"Have you ever heard about a thing called Christmas?" he asked.

"No. Why?" asked Past Shadow.

"Oh, it's Christmas Eve today as a matter of fact! How could you not possibly know?" asked Luke.

Luke was a hedgehog that looked exactly like Shadow in the present only with blue stripes instead of red. He also had blue eyes.

"I was never told of such a thing. Our parents never told us. Oh wait, we've never had parents. They abandoned us. What is it?" asked Shadow.

"It's a special kind of holiday! You know, where we celebrate being with each other and caring for others! That sort of thing! We bring each other gifts to show how much you care about them," Luke explained.

"Any other reason?" asked Shadow.

"There's a religious reason, but I think that not all people would really agree with it, so we'll just stick with what I said before," Luke replied.

"Right. How am I supposed to do this. Do I even want to do this?" asked Shadow to himself.

"If you don't, I'll force you," said Luke holding up a snow shovel. Shadow flinched.

"Fair enough. Let's get this over with…," Shadow said standing up from the sofa.

"Let me guess, I hated it!" Modern Shadow said.

"The exact opposite happened Shadow. Luke made it something you would like. That's what really got you into it: your brother. Never before had you ever found yourself smiling when not being the champion of a video game. You both agreed to do it every year."

"I guess I should've seen that coming. I don't feel much better. Christmas is just a soft holiday for selfish people that my brother made up," Shadow replied.

"We'll see."

Tikal changed the location. It was a few years later. Shadow had red stripes, hover shoes, rings on his wrists, and red eyes by this time. He was walking through the ark when he saw Maria putting decorations on a tree. Curiosity got the best of Shadow.

"Why are you decorating the ark like so?" asked Shadow.

"Why Shadow, don't you know? It's Christmas Eve! It's a tradition to decorate everything to celebrate. Christmas is my favorite time of the year! Do you want to help me finish decorating while I tell you more about it?" Maria asked him.

"Sure!" Shadow answered.

"Okay, so Luke wasn't the only one who celebrated it back then. I guess that if you say Maria celebrated it, it would give me a fair argument to do so also. However, I let that go a long time ago. It still doesn't matter!" snapped Shadow.

"Oh really?" asked Tikal. She snapped her fingers. This caused for the scene to change.

"Open the door!" bellowed a G.U.N agent.

"Listen Shadow, I want you to promise me!" Maria said to him as he was in the capsule she was about to send into space to Earth. Shadow punched and kicked the door, but it was no use.

"OKAY! I get it! Whatever you do, don't show me that again!" yelled Shadow.

"Yeah, you still like Maria. I thought so. Shall we continue?" asked Tikal nudging Shadow with a smirk.

"Ugh… Fine…," whimpered Shadow. He didn't want to go on. He only wanted the night to be over.

They were transported to the planet Earth. Maria was stepping lively next to Shadow. Shadow was observing everything he could. Modern Shadow was confused.

"How is this possible? Wasn't she strictly forbidden to go to Earth due a disease she had that's a pain in the neck to spell?" asked Shadow.

"Dr. Robotnik allowed you two to go to Earth for one night but have your minds erased afterward. You two agreed," Tikal explained.

"I still don't get it."

"Well, this isn't something that actually happened in the Sonic series, but this can be pulled off for us. That is, unless if everyone reading this is quite the critic…," Tikal sighed.

"Reading this? What are you talking about?"

"Stuff only ghosts and a selected few know about. Now, be quiet to hear what you two are saying."

"Shadow, I never thought that you were the type to take people to celebrations! This will be fun! The first time I will ever get to meet someone who lives here on this planet. Although, I had no idea that the climates would be this harsh…," Maria said rubbing her hands together trying to warm them. She did have a light jacket, but no gloves.

"Why couldn't it have been me without the gloves and you with the fur? I'd be feeling better if it were the other way around," Shadow replied.

"Don't be silly! I'm fine!" Maria said assuringly. It didn't seem to help Shadow at all. She had a long coughing fit after saying it.

"You are not fine! You are catching a cold," Shadow retorted.

"I'll be fine for one night! Please, Shadow!" Maria begged. Her pleading eyes met his. This obviously meant a lot to her. He couldn't say no. Shadow nodded reluctantly.

"Thank you, Shadow! I knew you would understand!"

"I'm regretting my decision already… Where are we going?" asked Shadow trying to take his mind off of her health.

"We're going to the park in Pineville. That's the town we are at now. Why they had to do it at night when it's so cold… I have no clue," Maria replied beginning to shiver.

"We could always turn back! You really aren't looking so good!" Shadow insisted.

"I'll go on. We only have to stay out here for an hour. I'm planning to stay for the entire sixty minutes!" Maria told him.

"I was sent to protect you. Don't drive me crazy."

They walked on. Everything they had to say was basically small talk until they got there. Once they did, they were pleasantly greeted by lights, trees, the smell of hot chocolate in the air, and many joyful people.

"What is that delightful smell?! I've never taken in such a remarkable scent!" exclaimed Maria excitedly.

"Why miss, how could you not know? It's called hot chocolate! Sort of like drinkable, warm chocolate with optional marshmallows in it. If you've never tasted it, why you've never lived!" a cheery old lady told her.

"It sounds absolutely amazing! Where can I get it?" asked Maria.

"You won't have to go anywhere! I'll be right back with a glass!" a young man with short brown hair told her with a smile.

"What nice people!" exclaimed Maria.

"My dear, you look like you're freezing! Do you need some gloves? I have an extra pair. Maybe some earmuffs?" asked a young lady.

"I'm good. Don't waste all your stuff on me," Maria replied.

"Well, if you're sure…," the lady said with a concerned expression.

"Why are you rejecting chances to get warmer? Don't you want gloves?" asked Shadow getting a little irritated.

"Shadow, they're being too nice… I can't accept every little thing they try to give me…," Maria said starting to shiver again.

"If you had a mirror, you would be able to see why they are being so nice. I don't want you to get hypothermia. You haven't adapted to the colder climate like they have!" Shadow persisted.

"I'm sorry! I don't need it! I don't need a thicker jacket! I don't need the thicker pants! I don't need any earmuffs or gloves!" Maria replied over the wind that was just starting to pick up.

"Why are you doing this to yourself?!" demanded Shadow.

"Why are you persisting?! If you really did care about me, you wouldn't argue!" whimpered Maria.

Shadow stood silently for a moment. The roar of the wind was all he could hear now. Was she right? Should he keep on fighting with her over this? What was the right thing to do? Shadow stepped back as he stared into her deep, pleading blue eyes. He was never able to argue with her when she looked at him like that.

"I-I don't know what to say…"

Maria had another coughing fit. Shadow was still lost in his thoughts. Everything seemed to be sucked into the howling wind. Finally, she heard her say something.

"I feel faint…," she said in a tiny voice.

"WHAT?!"

"I feel faint…," Maria replied passing out and falling onto the ground into a patch of snow. Shadow stood frozen. He knew it would happen eventually.

"Shadow! Shadow! There you are! We must take Maria back to the ark! It was a mistake to bring her here! The temperature is too low! I saw what was happening from the ark and came as quick as I could! Quickly now! Before anyone notices!" Dr. Robotnik said rushing up to her. He scooped her up into his arms and ran back to the park entrance with Shadow anxiously on his heels.

"You blamed yourself for what happened. The fact that your argument didn't work. If it did, if you were more persistent, it might have changed many things, but there's no changing the past as you can with the future. Ever since then, you have never brought yourself to go to another Christmas party in fear that you would jinx it by being there," Tikal explained.

"That is not why! The reason is because I just don't want to go to them. That's all," Shadow retorted bitterly.

"You got into the habit of saying no. Even when you didn't remember, you'd still say no. You've never really been that keen on them since then," Tikal told him.

"I guess that's true. I've never really been keen on them. What now? Is the night nearly over?" asked Shadow. Tikal shot him a glance.

"You completely lost it. After Maria died, you were done. No more Christmas after that. Also, after Luke died, you were clearly never going to celebrate it ever again. The only way you'd ever get back into it would be if this were to work, but even this plan has a pretty low chance of success," Tikal answered.

"Right… I'm just going to assume that this is all a dream. None of this really happened! I don't remember any of this!" snapped Shadow.

"This is your choice. I suppose I can't force you to change your mind. Even so, if you don't change your ways, your life shall collapse!" yelled Tikal clapping her hands together. Reality seemed to fall apart and everything turned black. Tikal vanished and Shadow was left to be crushed by the falling reality. Shadow awoke hardly surprised by any of it.

"That was the most ridiculous hour of my life. At least, it was only a dream!" exclaimed Shadow rubbing his forehead trying to clear his head.

"Wow. He must really be a tough guy to convince! If Tikal doesn't do nothin' to someone, he or she is a very hard person to convince. Well, time for Knuckles to have a crack at it!" said a male voice in the room.

"Oh please no… No! NO! NO! Please don't do this to me! The first ghost was torture enough!" cried Shadow.

"What? It's only one in the morning! Not that early!" Knuckles chirped hopping out into the middle of the room. The red echidna smiled warmly.

"Go away! I don't want Christmas spirit! I already know what you're going to do! You're going to take me back in time to see what I was like with my Christmas cheer! You can't make me go!" wept Shadow.

"Yeesh! You are pretty desperate to have me go away! Besides, we aren't going memory traveling this time! We are only going around to see how everyone else around you celebrate Christmas. I'm the ghost of Christmas present after all," Knuckles replied waving his finger back and forth in front of him.

"I don't care! I'm leaving!" Shadow yelled as he ran out of the room. He stopped in his tracks for no reason. Knuckles was controlling him.

"I don't think that's gonna happen. Back to the window with you sir!" Knuckles said dragging him to the window.

"I'm pressing charges! Let me go!"

"I'm a ghost! I thought that you would be smarter than this! Let's go!" yelled Knuckles jumping out the window with Shadow being dragged behind.

"Alright, nobody will see us, so we won't be having any problems. We're going to Sonic's house first," Knuckles said.

"Figures… Why should I have to know how that fool celebrates Christmas?!" Shadow asked.

They both landed by the window of Sonic's house. Sonic was still setting up the part with the help of Amy and the Team Chaotix. Sonic looked up from his work.

"I think we're done! I didn't think it would take this long. Let's play a game to celebrate! You all guess who I'm going to be!" Sonic said. They all agreed.

Sonic skipped up to the front of the room. He glared out at everyone with his arms crossed. Everyone thought for a moment.

"Is it Eggman?" asked Vector.

Sonic scowled at Vector as if he couldn't believe what he just heard. Vector got the message. Sonic tapped his foot impatiently.

"Is it Knuckles?" asked Charmy thinking as hard as he could.

"How dare he say that the person is me!" snapped Knuckles. Only Shadow heard him.

"You dare to give me such answers as these! Why you all ought to be ashamed of yourselves. Give me the correct answer now or be fired!" yelled Sonic in a deep, dark voice. Amy's ears straightened when she obtained the answer.

"It's Shadow! Not bad impersonation Sonic! You captured his crabbiness perfectly!" Amy said walking up to her husband. Sonic's face brightened again.

"Ding ding ding! Amy is correct! We should get you a prize!" Sonic sang happily.

"She's right. Shadow is just a lousy, snappy, old crab. He deserves to be made fun of!" Charmy shouted.

"Agreed!" Vector replied.

"Please, don't be rude. It isn't nice to make fun of people behind their backs. Even when they do deserve it," Espio told them.

"It's a shame he has to be like this actually. He probably won't leave me any inheritance when he dies," Sonic said with a sigh.

If he just did that, that would change my entire worldview!" Vector exclaimed. Everyone nodded in agreement.

Shadow was scowling at the blue hedgehog. Knuckles looked worried because he thought that Shadow would bust the window or something.

"Wow… I don't think you're very popular among people… No offense…," Knuckles said.

"That faker… I'm going to kill him! I'll kill that fake! He is the one I hate the most! If I don't kill him, I hope an anvil falls on his head at the end of this!" shouted Shadow.

"Shadow, how do you know that this is a story?" asked Knuckles.

"Tikal. She told me earlier," answered Shadow.

 _CRASH!_

"What was that?!" demanded Shadow with a jump.

"There goes the fourth wall…," Knuckles sighed.

He teleported them to a shack outside of town. It was broken down and badly needed to be painted. The roof looked like it was about to cave in. Shadow looked at Knuckles with disbelief.

"Who lives here? Why are we at this crummy place?!" snapped Shadow.

"I believe that this is Silver's house," Knuckles replied pointing into another window. Shadow looked in to find Silver, a blue cat like Blaze, and a green cat like Blaze.

"Silver? He lives there? Wow… That's pathetic," Shadow said. He barely felt any sympathy. Shadow thought that because Silver was such a lousy worker, he deserved every bit of this.

"It's all your fault you know!" Knuckles snapped nudging Shadow.

"If you're going to tell me that I am underpaying him, I beg the differ. You should know that he is the worst person ever if it involves work!" snapped Shadow in return.

"Well, you may want to take that back," Knuckles said pointing back at the cracked window. Shadow rolled his eyes.

"Father, when will Blaze return with the food for supper tonight?" asked the blue cat. She had an upper-class English accent in her voice. She looked more sophisticated than Silver and the other cat. The blue cat wore a turquoise blue dress that was, at the edges, lined in a cute magenta. Her gold eyes had a pleading expression.

"Oh Vala, you really need to learn to unwind! You need to stop worrying! Stop and smell the roses! Focus on the good things! I think that you should try playing to me! I need someone to play the Indian again… The North American tribes need to be hunted by the Europeans! Now, Vala, go herd some bison! Make arrows! Make tipis! Or do you want to build a wigwam? What tribe are you from?" asked the green cat.

"Nephora, I don't feel like doing such a foolish activity! Really? Herd buffalo?" asked Vala with annoyance.

"BISON!" Nephora yelled back.

"I don't feel like playing this. How about the Boston Tea Party?" asked Vala.

"I get to dump all your tea out the window?!" asked Nephora excitedly. She began to run off to get Vala's tea, but Silver stopped her with his psychokinesis. He shook his head.

"I meant a regular tea party!" snapped Vala.

"Really? Bor-ing! How about we become a part of the Aztec Empire!" Nephora cheered.

"NO! Er- no. I don't think that being a part of the Aztec Empire would be very… uh… appealing…," Vala replied awkwardly.

"The Battle of Gettysburg?" asked Nephora.

"No."

"World War Two?"

"Do you even know what you're saying?!"

"I GOT IT! The battle of Yorktown in the American Revolution in 1781!" Nephora yelled getting a box to act as battle armor.

"You are crazy! I don't want to do anything like that! How about we play a game of chess instead!" cried Vala.

"Chess? Is it wizard's chess? No… You are going to say, 'Oh, wizard's chess is waaaaaaay too violent to be a game! We have to play a boring, normal, regular game'. Are you sure you don't want to act out the Trojan War with me? You can be in the Trojan horse!" Nephora replied.

"UGH!"

"I do not know how you know so much about history. We've never to get you to school. How do you know?" asked Silver.

"I-have-no-idea. Do you want to play with me? We can do the Battle at Pearl Harbor!" Nephora said handing Silver a toy plane.

"Er- No thanks! I'm good. I don't know when Blaze and Tiny Tails will be back. It has been a while, though…," Silver said looking at the door with a worried expression. He shook his head slowly.

"Why does Tiny Tails have to be so ill? Can't he be an energetic, growing child like me?" asked Nephora hanging upside-down from a chair.

"I don't know… There are many young children who get sick like this all the time… It's a shame really… If he doesn't get well soon, I fear what will happen…," Silver said quietly.

"Not to be rude, but it is all Shadow's fault! He doesn't pay you enough father! That selfish hedgehog should have given you that raise! I bet he doesn't even know how hard you work! We deserve better! He is the one who deserves to live in the conditions we do!" Vala shouted slamming her fist on a small wooden table. The table grew colder and frost appeared.

"Don't freeze the table! We need it warm for the food we're going to get if your mother will ever get home!" Silver told Vala.

"I should summon my hydrokinesis to drown Shadow. No… He's already drowning in his own greed and money!" Nephora said.

"Stop it you two! We mustn't speak of Shadow in this manner! He is the reason we are alive. If he didn't pay me anything, we'd all be freezing out on the streets begging every passerby we see for tips! We should be grateful that we can even live in this shack!" Silver explained to the both of them.

The door suddenly flew open. A young yellow fox with two tails and with a green scarf stood next to a light purple cat in a red coat with a yellow scarf. They both wore red shoes, white gloves, and had yellow eyes. Shadow guessed that the fox was Tiny Tails. Tiny Tails was on a crutch and was looking kind of pale when he walked through the door.

"Blaze! Tails! Thank goodness you're back! Tails, you're looking worse! You'd better sit down," Vala said leading Tails to a small wooden chair by the small wooden table.

"WHAT'D YOU BRING US?! I'M STARVING!" yelled Nephora.

"Well, I think that Tiny Tails wants to tell you," Blaze said turning to her son with a smile. Tiny Tails nodded.

"We were able to bring back a small turkey and half of an apple pie!" Tiny Tails said.

"That's it?" asked Shadow to Knuckles.

"Indeed. They are too poor to get much else. For them, this is a feast," Knuckles explained.

Shadow felt a knot form in the pit of his stomach. A vision of Maria freezing in the cold flashed in his head for a millisecond. Tiny Tails looked just like she did. Freezing in the cold with some hope in his eyes. Shadow's heart wanted to melt. The dark hedgehog shoved the thought to the back of his mind.

"Wow! That's great! This is going to be one of the greatest feasts ever! Tiny Tails, how were you able to get this?!" demanded Nephora excitedly.

"We were out in the marketplace. A man saw us and sympathized for us. He gave us a small turkey and apple pie. He was a very nice man…," said Tiny Tails.

"If only everyone were like that…," Vala muttered under her breath. Shadow knew she was talking about him.

"Alright, remember what I told you earlier! Tails, are you alright?" asked Silver kneeling next to the little fox. He nodded.

"Blaze, what do you think about his condition?" asked Silver.

"He should be okay for now, but who knows when he might start getting worse… If he doesn't recover…," Blaze said. Her voice faded away as if she couldn't finish the sentence. Silver put his arm around Blaze comfortingly.

"We just have to hope and pray that he'll be all right."

Shadow and Knuckles were teleported back to Shadow's room. Shadow was now rather unsure about how he felt about Christmas. He could sit in a chair and ponder whether he should participate or not. It made his head spin just to think about there being one more ghost.

"Well, I hope you learned something Shadow! I'll be back to nag you in future Sonic games!" Knuckles yelled as he began to disappear.

"Wait! What's the third ghost like?!" asked Shadow, but Knuckles was already gone. He sat on the bed to wait for the third ghost.

The room felt cold and dark. Whenever Shadow lit a candle, the room wouldn't get any lighter. Shadow would constantly feel chills ripple down his spine. The moonlight was blocked from the window making the room dark. Shadow thought it was rather odd.

After an hour of this, a purple mist leaked in through the window. The third ghost. It didn't have a face or form, but it was enough to make Shadow's heart skip a beat when he saw.

"Wha-?! Er- Are you the ghost of Christmas future?! I didn't… quite have this in mind…," Shadow said.

The ghost made an eerie noisy as if to say yes. It got right down to it. The ghost instantly transported itself and Shadow to the future. They were back at Silver's house.

"There must have been a mistake. I've already been here!" Shadow said.

The ghost made another eerie noise. It didn't move. Shadow got the message. He looked in the window. Everyone's face was grim. They all sat in silence.

"I'm going out for a while…," Silver said to the three cats. Tiny Tails was nowhere to be found…

"We'll go with you. No point in going there alone," Blaze said quietly. Silver nodded to his wife.

The four of them made their way to a place that Shadow wasn't expecting at all. A cemetery…

"A cemetery?! Why are we going here on Christmas day?!" demanded Shadow.

The mist made no reply. It only glided after Silver and his family. Shadow continued to follow as well. Silver, Blaze, Nephora, and Vala arrived at the stone they were looking for.

Tiny Tails

Died age 9

Will be missed.

"How?! Was I responsible for this? Am I a… monster?" asked Shadow. His voice began to tremble.

The mist nodded and took the form of the game Shadow the Hedgehog. Shadow rolled his eyes and smacked himself in the face.

"That's _not_ what I meant! Was I the cause of his death?!" Shadow asked begging to know.

The ghost didn't reply. It glided over to another stone with a crowd of people standing in front of it. Silver's family joined the small crowd. Sonic, Amy, Rouge, Cream, Cheese, Marine, Silver, Blaze, Vala, Nephora, Vector, Espio, Knuckles (being a ghost is only a part time job for him), and Cosmo were there. Shadow wondered what they were gathered about.

"He was a selfish person!" Amy yelled.

"Not very nice," Vala stated.

"The very reason for all of our misery!" Blaze said shaking her head.

"The crabbiest guy in town!" Charmy shouted.

"Wasn't a jolly good friend when he should have been!" Marine said in her Australian accent.

"Never used his money for good," Cream said.

"Chao!" Cheese agreed.

"He was a good friend to me in the past. He died a bad friend," Rouge said.

"He didn't listen to me…," Knuckles mumbled.

"He didn't leave me any inheritance…," Sonic sighed.

" … H-He… He killed my son!" Silver spat with his voice cracking.

With every word they said, Shadow's knot in his stomach grew tighter. He didn't want to know who they were talking about. However, he figured he would have to face the facts. He knew it was himself. He forced himself to cast a glance at the stone they were gathered around.

Shadow the Hedgehog

Died Age:?

Will probably not be missed by any.

Feel free to spit on his grave.

"Well, that last line is just plain rude! Really?! Me! I'm the one who did all of this? Ghost, I don't care who you are! Just speak to me! Say something! How can I change this horrible future?!" Shadow begged on his knees.

The figure seemed to glare at him for a moment. The ghost slowly began to form into a shape. A hedgehog it almost looked like. The mist turned to fur and the colors were getting filled in. Shadow gasped he knew this hedgehog! It laughed a maniacal laugh. It was all too familiar.

"How ironic fate can be! What? Did you forget me?" asked the dark hedgehog that now stood in front of the alarmed Shadow.

"Mephiles! I should've known! Only you would be able to show me such things!" Shadow said pointing at Mephiles.

"Shadow, what you see is what the future now holds! A future of death!" Mephiles exclaimed. If he had a mouth, he would smirk.

"I-It can be! Is there a way to change it?!" demanded Shadow.

"Why, it's the future. I'll let you decide if you can change it. However, nobody can escape death's hand. That is, besides me. You didn't change your ways in this future! You said that you didn't care about what happened to Silver and his family. You said things that most would regret. Never had it occurred to you that you were a critical part of their survival. You lowered how much they were paid. Tiny Tails paid the price. I don't decide how your future will turn out. However, things look pretty grim for you…," Mephiles observed.

Shadow had to admit, Mephiles was probably telling the truth. Shadow didn't want this future to happen. He would do whatever it took to change it. He knew what he had to do.

"I get it! I'll change my ways! Whatever happens, I won't let this future come to be! Take me home! I'm ready to shape up!" Shadow said.

"People like you make my job so much easier. However, I've been wanting revenge for a while now! Since I saw this future for you, I've been hoping that you would continue to be a stiff heart. Too bad for me I guess. You are the most boring person ever to simply say that you'll change your ways as soon as you got here!" Mephiles said.

"Whatever! I'm going to change no matter what you say! Now take me back!" Shadow commanded.

Mephiles began to vanish in front of Shadow. Shadow was still stuck in the one future. He thought he was going to panic.

"Very well…," Mephiles said.

Shadow stood in the future. He wasn't sure what to do. He knew he was supposed to be back. What was he supposed to do?

"I will change! I don't want to be here! This is the last place I want to end up! Don't leave me!" yelled Shadow at the sky to all the ghosts. He didn't want to be stuck forever in a half reality.

Tikal appeared in front of him. She smiled warmly. Shadow felt relieved.

"What happened? Why am I still here?" asked Shadow.

"We figured Mephiles would leave you here. Don't worry. I'll take you back. What is your response to your journey?" asked Tikal.

"I want to go home," Shadow replied.

"Understandable!"

Shadow appeared back in his room with Tikal still floating there in front of him. The sky began to grow lighter.

"Don't forget what we told you Shadow! Merry Christmas!" she said disappearing as the sun came up.

"And a happy New Year!" Shadow yelled.

That day, Shadow did everything he said he would. He gave Silver a raise, apologized to everyone, and attended Sonic's party. It couldn't have been better. Never before had there been a greater night for Shadow than the one before that Christmas. He never forgot the three ghosts. Sometimes they still walk in his dreams. They may walk in your dreams too if you face the problem he did. Beware the three ghosts of Christmas…

"You are so cliche and cheesy! Everyone has read an ending like this before! Man, writer, you need to get more creative!" said Shadow.

Nevermind what I said earlier. The theme is actually to not be cliche or cheesy. Also, the theme is that sarcasm rocks.

"Nobody likes sarcasm!"

Ugh! Whatever! The End! There! I'm not changing it!

ZairaDrayan doesn't own Sonic or A Christmas Carol. I only wish that you enjoyed this late Christmas special and have a happy New Year!


End file.
